A TRIP OF A LIFETIME – The Bayonne High School Marching Band is gearing up for a trip to Washington, DC in the spring, raising money to take part in the 2013 Memorial Day Parade.
Re-established in 2004, the annual event is now held in conjunction with the American Veterans Center and Music Celebrations International. The three-hour parade passes alongside the National Mall on Constitution Avenue between Seventh and 17th streets and through many of the most significant monuments in the nation’s capital. The parade consists of select marching bands and veteran units from each of the 50 states, and includes more than 10,000 participants annually.

O’Donnell calls for investigation of denied lunch to autistic kindergartener

After learning the circumstances surrounding the five-year-old nonverbal autistic child from Matawan who was denied school lunch, Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell immediately called for a formal investigation to be conducted by the New Jersey Department of Education. The boy was in his fourth day at Cliffwood Elementary School when, according to a report by Channel 7 Eyewitness News, he was left without lunch and made to sit and watch other children eat due to a miscommunication between the school and his parents over the $2 per day lunch fee.

O’Donnell released the following statement in calling for the investigation:

“Regardless of the reason, it is outrageous that a five-year-old child was forced to go hungry for an entire day. While it is inexcusable for any child in our public schools to sit through a lunch period watching others eat while having been denied a meal, this particular case is even more appalling. This student was a nonverbal autistic child who couldn’t possibly even begin to defend himself. The school staff had an obligation to look out for this child.

“While school lunch programs and their administrators are to be commended for the strides they have made in ensuring that our public school children receive healthy meals, no child should ever slip through the cracks and go hungry for an entire school day.

“Matawan’s School Superintendent said this has never happened before and it will never happen again, but I believe it is incumbent upon the State Department of Education to conduct a complete and thorough investigation. The fact that a five-year-old sat hungry all day because a mistake was made and a $2 fee was unpaid and the people in charge didn’t bother to call his parents is inexcusable. It is our responsibility to make sure it never happens again. It is my hope that this investigation will result in comprehensive, state-wide guidelines being implemented to protect those who can’t help themselves.”

Sword play?

A Japanese master of sword will hold his fall workshop from Oct. 12 to the 15 at the Yoshitsune-Jujutsu Kai in Bayonne. Ryushin Shouchi Ryu comes to Bayonne once a year, and is considered one of the masters of his style. For more information, go to yoshitsnue-jujutus-kai.com.